Ian Wright criticises Manchester United star for letting Sander Berge ‘walk past him’
The Red Devils were wide open in the middle of the pitch.
Ian Wright has criticised Manchester United’s display in their 1-1 draw with Burnley, and particularly one moment from Casemiro, and felt the visitors were very unlucky not to win.
The Red Devils racked up 27 shots in Saturday’s match at Old Trafford and took the lead in the 79th minute when Antony pounced on a stray pass, drove towards goal and fired into the bottom corner.
But not even 10 minutes later, Burnley were given an opportunity to level the scores when Andre Onana rushed out and smashed Zeki Amdouni, with the forward dusting himself off to dispatch the resulting penalty.
Despite drawing, Erik ten Hag was happy with his side’s performance and felt they were denied three potential penalty shouts in the match.
But Arsenal legend Wright viewed the game rather differently, with Burnley failing to convert a host of hugely promising counter-attacks into shots on goal despite racking up 16 in the match.
The visitors also enjoyed 53 per cent possession at Old Trafford and attempted more passes than United, with Wright astonished by how much space there was in the midfield and how easily players like Casemiro – who was deputising at centre-back again – were bypassed by Burnley.
‘If you’re playing against Man United, you’re probably going to get opportunities,’ said Wright on Match of the Day during a compilation of all the chances Burnley spurned.
‘One throw [from the goalkeeper] and straight into the back four.
‘Look at this from Man United, you can see where Kobbie Mainoo is coming from, you can see where Christian Eriksen is – all of them taken out with one pass.
‘This is just how easy you can get past the midfield [of Man United], this is Sander Berge with Casemiro.
‘Now he’s just got to stop and not let him come though, but he [Berge] has just walked past him.
‘They’ve had more possession than United at Old Trafford. Burnley. Second from bottom. I think they were very unlucky not to win this game. They could have won it with better finishing.’
Casemiro was also criticised for his role in the Burnley penalty, bizarrely heading the ball straight up in the air before Onana clattered into Amdouni.
Ten Hag, though, has constantly played down how many chances his side gift to opponents and was once again happy with how United performed against Burnley, even claiming they are one of the Premier League’s most exciting teams to watch.
‘We are one of the most dynamic and entertaining teams in the league at this moment,’ Ten Hag told Match of the Day after the game.
‘We are creating loads of chances by playing good football. Every team gives up opportunities. But when it is up to us, it is weird.’
On the decisions that went against his side, Ten Hag said: ‘So I don’t have a problem with the penalty we conceded because that is a good decision, it’s a penalty.
‘But then be consistent, and especially the one with the handball. If I assess the penalty from Aaron Wan-Bissaka [in the FA Cup] last week, what can he do there? And what is then the handball today?
‘It is absolutely inconsistent. And there is also the referee, he should take responsibility, what it means for the club and especially at this stage of the game.’
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